Althouse: DORALmost...

October 20, 2019

DORALmost...

... but not quite.

44 comments:

Tank said...: No good deed goes unpunished.; 10/20/19, 7:58 AM
Hagar said...: Kind of wish he had said, OK, we will host it free of charge then!; 10/20/19, 7:58 AM
Beasts of England said...: I hope his second choice for the G7 is a Holiday Inn Express.; 10/20/19, 7:59 AM
Limited blogger said...: It was the perfect location for this confab.

Therefore the media/democrat hive could not allow it.; 10/20/19, 8:06 AM
rehajm said...: I've spent (too much) time at Doral, when it was owned by Marriott and through and after the renovations under Trump ownership. It's a poorly designed facility and deserved to be leveled and renovated, IMO. Trump put LOTS of money into the renovations. His taste is very bad but as far as gaudy Florida resorts go it's far from the worst. Trump does a good job hiring and promoting good people though, including the staff at Doral. Light years ahead of what Marriott was doing...

The resort is really hurting since Trump became President. Over 50% of their business came from corporate meetings and retreats and companies aren't willing to risk any Trump backlash. They could have easily had the G-7. Trump would have done it at cost. Camp David would cost more but Camp David is a dump. Nobody wants to go there. The resort they ultimately use will end up costing way more.; 10/20/19, 8:08 AM
wendybar said...: Isn't it great?? We going to spend millions in taxpayer dollars to go somewhere else instead. Yay for taxpayers!!!; 10/20/19, 8:08 AM
jnseward said...: Three reasons why hosting the G7 at Doral was a good idea:

1. It saves the G7 countries, including the U.S., a lot of money.
2. It gives our President the home court advantage.
3. It pisses off the haters.; 10/20/19, 8:08 AM
mikee said...: Camp David was unacceptable. Doral was unacceptable. So anything between those two extremes should also be unacceptable. The parking lot of a DC Walmart it is, then.; 10/20/19, 8:09 AM
Mark said...: I will read this as an admission of guilt and walking it back.

Sort of like Mulvaney on Thursday.

Lots of walking back out of the White House this week.; 10/20/19, 8:11 AM
Howard said...: Playing the victim card will play well with you people.; 10/20/19, 8:13 AM
rcocean said...: Its too bad he caved on it, but it was a target for the MSM and Democrats in the 2020 election. Warren would've brought it up as example of "trump's corruption" in the debates.

Trump isn't President to make Money, he's lost millions and forgone any salary. Doral was doing it at cost, and I assume they could do it as cheaply as anywhere else.; 10/20/19, 8:40 AM
Michael K said...: More evidence of what the presidency is costing Trump.; 10/20/19, 8:42 AM
rehajm said...: Foreign bureaucrats LOVE LOVE LOVE New York City. They want the St. Regis and Four Seasons- the midtown one, not that one down in the financial district someone.; 10/20/19, 8:45 AM
Narayanan said...: Maybe time to say :
"I pass" on shindig.; 10/20/19, 8:46 AM
Freder Frederson said...: 1. It saves the G7 countries, including the U.S., a lot of money.

We don't know that, we just have Mulvaney's unsupported claim. Just the security would be a nightmare, (say compared to Camp David, where it has been held in the past). Have you looked at a map of Doral? It sits in the middle of a mix of strip malls and office parks in suburban Miami. The G7 attracts protesters like flies. Proximity to a major international airport is a disadvantage, not a plus.

2. It gives our President the home court advantage.

This is not a tennis match or basketball game, it is a diplomatic meeting where the point is to reach consensus, not win.

3. It pisses off the haters.

Since when is "pissing off the haters" a legitimate government function?

They could have easily had the G-7. Trump would have done it at cost. Camp David would cost more but Camp David is a dump.

And who would determine the "cost"? You talk like cost is a fixed number that anyone can easily determine and everyone agrees on. And how do you know Camp David is more expensive? Do you have a spreadsheet comparing the costs of the potential venues? If so, please share them with us.; 10/20/19, 8:50 AM
Hagar said...: I wonder what Trump is up to. First Erdogan and now this. It is out of character.; 10/20/19, 8:54 AM
Freder Frederson said...: What happened to "Never give up, never surrender"?; 10/20/19, 8:55 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "It gives our President the home court advantage."

I've seen that argument, but I think it was a crude form of "advantage" and the crudeness was flipping it over into a disadvantage — a distraction. The event will already be in the U.S. and he's the most powerful person in the world. There's no reason to load on a conspicuous advantage that seems to have been grabbed at.

Scott Adams has been drooling over this "home court advantage" advantage idea, laughing and exulting about how this is the greatest advantage anyone has ever taken or some such superlative.

Trump was right to drop it. It was similar to his releasing the Ukraine phone call transcript. When your antagonists are making a huge deal over something you have in your possession, let go. Maybe they'll fall on their ass.; 10/20/19, 8:57 AM
Ann Althouse said...: I'm not saying ALWAYS let go.

Be surprising. Choose when to let go. Then they'll fall on their ass.; 10/20/19, 8:58 AM
Freder Frederson said...: Trump was right to drop it. It was similar to his releasing the Ukraine phone call transcript. When your antagonists are making a huge deal over something you have in your possession, let go. Maybe they'll fall on their ass.

or maybe the transcript you claim exonerates you does just the opposite (especially considering a growing number of people involved in the debacle are not willing to fall on their swords to prop up Trump), but you are just too stupid (and count on your followers to be gullible) to realize it.; 10/20/19, 9:02 AM
Freder Frederson said...: Be surprising. Choose when to let go. Then they'll fall on their ass.

Why was this ever a good idea?; 10/20/19, 9:09 AM
Gilbert Pinfold said...: Note well that Biden charged the Secret Service lodging fees for agents staying at Biden’s Delaware house to protect him. Cui bono?; 10/20/19, 9:10 AM
Francisco D said...: I don't think Trump ever expected to host G-7 at the Doral. It was an opportunity to show people how unhinged the "resistance" is, just like pulling a few troops out of Syria. Now he has the opportunity to show people that there is a tangible expense when it comes to dealing with the haters.; 10/20/19, 9:32 AM
AMDG said...: I know that President Costanza is playing some form of 47 dimensional chess and that his genius will be reviewed at some point but this is all so exhausting.

While things like the Ukraine phone call, the Syrian pullout, and the Doral decision are not impeachable on their own they are, for different reasons incredibly, stupid. Costanza is asking way too many people to defend too many indefensible actions. At some point many of these people are going to give up.

A great deal of Costanza’s support has been transactional. We get judges and tax cuts for the price of putting up with him. Unfortunately, with each act of idiocy that price goes up.; 10/20/19, 9:33 AM
Beasts of England said...: As a G7 alternative, I’d recommend my favorite southern resort: Blackberry Farm in the Smokies. It’s a Relais & Châteaux affiliate, so it’s top drawer. They have 50+ rooms, Orvis fly fishing, world class cuisine, a spa, and a Beasts-approved wine cellar.

Lamar Alexander’s home is located on the resort’s expansive acreage, so he could catch any overflow in his spare bedrooms. And the press whiners could stay at nearby Dollywood... :); 10/20/19, 9:36 AM
Birkel said...: Given that the G7 is literally stealing 14 year old Norwegian (who cares if that is wrong?) girls' futures because of airplane travel, why don't they just telecommute?

It's all ridiculous. On all sides, a pox.

Trump 2020.
SMOD 2024.; 10/20/19, 9:40 AM
steve uhr said...: Although it’s prob not available, The American Club in Wis in the perfect choice. Key state. Dems having convention in Milwaukee. Beautiful facility.; 10/20/19, 9:46 AM
BUMBLE BEE said...: Francisco D nailed it. Another masterful troll by da man. Shows what silly schoolgirls the dems are. Have it at Chick-fil-A, now there's a hoot!; 10/20/19, 10:07 AM
Michael K said...: you are just too stupid (and count on your followers to be gullible) to realize it.

Mind reader/psychologist Freder tells us what is going on.

In his head, unfortunately,; 10/20/19, 10:22 AM
Curious George said...: Fredor:

This is not a tennis match or basketball game, it is a diplomatic meeting where the point is to reach consensus, not win."

Show me someone who wants "consensus" and I'll show you a loser. Another tell was of all the sports he picked tennis. What a pussy.; 10/20/19, 10:27 AM
daskol said...: I think it was a troll to begin with, and a good one. Keep the crazies hyperventaliting about the latest outrage, have them add it to the impeachment butcher's bill, get them to say things like this alone, even if Ukraine doesn't pan out, is worth impeachment (something I read in more than one place), and then snatch it away and dangle something else shiny in front of them.

BTW, Zuckerberg, showing excellent PR/Message discipline, continues to try to position Facebook as very different in important ways as regards respect for viewpoint diversity, freedom of speech and the importance of the social web as a public commons. It's good strategy regardless, but Instapundit thinks it means Zuckerberg is gearing up for en extension of the vacuous tumult of the Trump era.; 10/20/19, 10:49 AM
Jeff said...: More evidence of what the presidency is costing Trump.
Nonsense. If Trump were concerned about losing money on his properties because he was President, he had an obvious alternative: sell the properties before taking office. He didn't do that, so maybe he isn't actually losing money. After all, it's quite likely that the Trump brand will be more prestigious in 2025 than it was in 2015, and worth a lot more. If Trump didn't think so, he would have sold everything off before taking office.

Don't get me wrong. I don't see anything wrong with Trump profiting from the prestige of having been President. But holding any kind of governmental functions at one of his properties is a bad idea, even if it's the result of an open and transparent competitive bidding process. It looks and smells swampy, and that's something that Trump just can't do while claiming he's draining the swamp. Politically, it just doesn't work. It doesn't just look bad to Democrats, it's looks bad to us rubes from flyover country too.; 10/20/19, 10:53 AM
Seeing Red said...: Since I am The Government Frédérique, pissing the other side off is legitimate and long overdue.; 10/20/19, 10:53 AM
mccullough said...: Trump never intended to have it at Doral.

He floated the idea to make the Dems scream Corruption. The Cokehead Biden story is still fresh and these idiots ignore it to scream about something that was never going to happen. They are really fucking dumb.

Now he’s going to continue to expose new corruption like The Biden’s and other Dems. Pelosi kids are next. Then Romney’s.

They are fodder for the Tweets and Campaign Rallies.

Trump just got them all to admit The Appearance of Impropriety — Cashing In — is wrong.

As Harry Reid said, Trump is a smart guy. But these other people are fucking dumb, which makes Trump look smarter.; 10/20/19, 10:56 AM
Freder Frederson said...: Sorry that not being a basketball fan makes me a pussy. You must habe a very rigid sense of gender roles. For the record, I don't like tennis much either, but my mother in law loves it. (The only sport she watches) so I am frequently exposed to it.; 10/20/19, 11:17 AM
JaimeRoberto said...: Since when is "pissing off the haters" a legitimate government function?

Change "hater" to "opponents" and have a word with Little Sisters of the Poor or Hobby Lobby.; 10/20/19, 11:20 AM
Birkel said...: I understand about the mother in law.
But what about your hubby's father?; 10/20/19, 12:04 PM
narciso said...: You all do know, nelson Rockefeller, then vice president, held the second g7 at his brother's place at the dorado hotel in 1976, don't you, a commenter on powerline noted it,; 10/20/19, 12:49 PM
narciso said...: I think he intended to, he saw what accommodations at the last event was like, and thought he could upgrade,; 10/20/19, 1:11 PM
n.n said...: Now he can return to the People's business to investigate Water Closet: Obama spied, Clinton colluded, Biden obstructed, the press prosecuted warlock trials, the social media platforms steered, and the [anti] fascists raged.; 10/20/19, 1:16 PM
Freder Frederson said...: "But what about your hubby's father?"

How very witty! You seem to think I give a flying fuck about how you perceive my sexuality.; 10/20/19, 2:30 PM
Birkel said...: No, I assume no such thing.
You are disingenuous and I think everybody on the Internet is an 8 foot tall woman juggler.
Oh, did I mention you are demonstrably an inveterate liar?; 10/20/19, 3:49 PM
Howard said...: Trump is trolling his Cucks. You're erection over this is primo facial ipso facto; 10/20/19, 3:56 PM
donald said...: Do it in some shit hole like Detroit.; 10/20/19, 5:03 PM